2026-07-13 - Finance Committee

0:03Good evening. I will call to order the

0:05Finance Committee meeting on July 13th,

0:082026 at 6:30 p.m.

0:11Uh, we have three items on the agenda

0:13this evening. Uh, proposed ordinance

0:15amendment uh, to the city code code

0:18chapter 125 personnel. Uh, proposed

0:21Richer K through 5 elementary school

0:23project bond uh, in the amount of

0:26$160,544,091.

0:30And also a proposed storm water bond in

0:33the amount of $6,300,000.

0:37I will begin uh, with order number

0:3926-109778.

0:43Um, that the proposed uh, ornament

0:46ordinance amendment to the city code

0:47chapter 125 personnel personnel section

0:515 preparation of classification

0:53descriptions. And to chapter 125

0:56personnel section 6 uh, salary schedule

1:00relative to the position of recreation

1:02coordinator. Um, I'll read the uh,

1:05letter submitted uh, by the mayor.

1:08Dear Council President Ossining and

1:10Counselors, enclosed for your review and

1:12approval is a job description and salary

1:15ordinance for the recreation coordinator

1:17position.

1:18This position is covered under the

1:20collective bargaining agreement between

1:22the City of Marlborough and the

1:23Marlborough Municipal Employees

1:25Association. MMEA

1:28and has been reviewed and approved by

1:30MMEA. Uh, the purpose of this job

1:33description is to align the growing and

1:35evolving needs of the recreation

1:37department through the reorganization of

1:40the positions within the department. Um,

1:43this job description has been uh,

1:45recalibrated due to the collective uh,

1:47collaboration between the recreation

1:49director, human resource department, the

1:51mayor's office, and MMEA.

1:54Uh, the former city uh, senior clerk

1:57position within the recreation

1:58department no longer aligns with the

2:01operational needs of the department to

2:04to improve efficiency and better support

2:07departmental functions

2:09a restructuring was undertaken that

2:11reinstated the assistant recreation

2:13director position and combined the

2:16responsibilities from the former program

2:18manager and the senior clerk position

2:20into the recreation coordination

2:22coordinator position.

2:24The proposed salary ordinance amendment

2:26places the position at the same level as

2:28the head clerk pay schedule.

2:30While city council approval is required

2:33and appreciated any modifications to the

2:35job description or compensation

2:38structure would constitute a change to

2:41the terms that were negotiated and

2:43agreed upon and would therefore require

2:45further discussion within the union

2:47prior to implementation.

2:49Please do not hesitate to contact me or

2:51my office with any questions sincerely

2:54Jay Christian Zum is mayor.

2:56Um.

2:57I will open this up to committee.

3:00This is something that I support and I

3:02know

3:03uh uh.

3:05Chuck Theobald has been working

3:07diligently to get this the director

3:09getting this

3:11toward the city council council vital.

3:13>> Thank you Mr. Chair.

3:14The this position is is

3:16very much needed down the recreation

3:18department.

3:20This is one of the few organizations DPW

3:23being another one of you but they're

3:2524/7 they're in need down there at the

3:27recreation department and having

3:28somebody who has the the skill set to be

3:32able to uh

3:33prioritize and divvy out

3:35responsibilities to the managers and to

3:37DPW and other other departments across

3:39the city is critical for the department.

3:42So I would strongly suggest that we we

3:44uh

3:45approve the description and salary

3:46ordinance for the recreation

3:47commissioner.

3:48Or coordinator.

3:50>> Is that is that your motion?

3:51>> It is in my motion. Motion has been

3:53made. I will second that

3:55to approve order number 26109778

3:59that the proposed ordinance amendment to

4:00the city code chapter 125 personnel

4:03section 5 preparation classification

4:04descriptions and to chapter 125

4:07personnel section 6 salary schedule and

4:10the job description of the recreation

4:13coordinator. Any further discussion? Mr.

4:15Chair.

4:16>> Councilor Pajal. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I

4:18would just ask that we also make sure

4:20that we advertise

4:22and as well as ask for suspension when

4:24this is reported out on the floor.

4:25>> do that. That's a good good point,

4:26Council. And we're okay with that,

4:28committee?

4:29And to to average suspension and to

4:32advertise.

4:33All in Mr. President.

4:34>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to

4:36point out to the committee that

4:38before us on next Monday's night, we're

4:40going to be approving salary changes to

4:42the recreation director, the assistant

4:43recreation director, and then with this

4:45one, there's going to be a $39,000

4:47shortfall or transfer that's going to be

4:49needed to pay for all these positions.

4:52All right? So, even though, you know,

4:54everybody's all excited about them, we

4:55still got to pay for them.

4:58Thank you, Mr. Chair.

4:59>> Thank good point, Mr. President. All in

5:01favor?

5:021 2 3 4 5. It carries 5 to 0 with the

5:06suspension to advertise as well.

5:10Moving on to

5:12agenda item 26-109766.

5:17Proposed Richard K. 3-5 Elementary

5:20School project bond in the amount of

5:22$160,544,091.

5:26And I'll begin by reading the letter

5:29submitted by the mayor.

5:33Honorable President Osing and

5:35councilors, enclosed for your review and

5:37approval are two bond authorization

5:39requests for the Richard School project

5:42in the amount of $160,544,091

5:47to be bonded for the built built of the

5:50school and $6,300,000

5:53for the capital improvement project for

5:55storm water flooding.

5:57Our journey toward a new Richer School

5:59began in the summer of 2024.

6:02Since then, we have successfully

6:03completed several milestones, including

6:06the selection of the owner's project

6:07manager, OPM, and the feasibility study,

6:11and the schematic design phase. This

6:14vote will not only allow the project to

6:16move forward, but will have the final

6:18determination and the reimbursement

6:20rate. We are submitting the bond request

6:23for the total project projected dollar

6:25amount of the project because this is

6:27the process used to fund the project and

6:30cover its cost. We will receive the

6:32final determination of the city's cost

6:34during the June 24th MS MSBA meeting and

6:39vote and and determination of the

6:41reimbursement total. In the enclosed

6:44packet, you will find a letter from OPM

6:46Vertex with a breakdown of the cost and

6:49the expected reimbursement totals. These

6:51numbers are preliminary and are not

6:53final. Based on the scheduled date of

6:56the upcoming vote by MSBA on June 24th,

6:59the city council schedule, we needed to

7:02submit the packet for this meeting so

7:03you are as a body can approve the bonds

7:06and project costs at the July 20th city

7:10council meeting. The goal is to have

7:12this referred to the finance committee

7:14prior to the July city council meeting.

7:16The following the June 24th MSMBA vote,

7:20representatives from Vertex will attend

7:22the committee meeting to answer any

7:24questions, discuss the final project

7:26figures, and provide an update on the

7:28outcome of the MSBA vote. Regarding the

7:31bond of the storm water infrastructure

7:33improvements,

7:34this has been a long-standing issue in

7:37the area that requires necessary

7:39attention.

7:40With the construction of the new school

7:42moving forward, the opportunity to

7:43address this critical infrastructure

7:45need is now. Taking action at this time

7:48will help make sure the necessary

7:50improvements are made to support both

7:52the community and future developments.

7:54Uh we do not fix the storm water issue

7:57and build the school, we may see

7:58increase uh in flooding in the

8:00neighborhood that abuts the site. Uh

8:02thank you for your flexibility in

8:04accommodating meeting times as we work

8:06to maintain this ambitious schedule and

8:08achieve a fall 2029

8:11opening. I want to thank the school

8:13building committee, all the

8:15subcommittees, Vertex, LPA architects,

8:18school committee, city council, and

8:19everyone who has done their part uh to

8:21get this project to this milestone. If

8:24you have any questions or concerns,

8:25please do not hesitate to contact me

8:27sincerely, J. Christian Dumas, mayor.

8:30And we did we did through our email as

8:32well receive the letter from uh the uh

8:35the MSBA

8:37um determining uh that we were approved.

8:40Um at this time, I would like to bring

8:42up

8:45Are you Are you Yeah.

8:47If you could do your uh introduction and

8:50start your slideshow as well. Thank you,

8:52Chris.

9:04>> So, um my name is Christopher Eberly.

9:06I'm the project executive from The

9:08Vertex Companies. We've been working

9:10with the city of Marlborough since

9:12October of 2024. With me tonight is John

9:15Lemieux, our senior managing director um

9:19for The Vertex Company. Also joining us

9:21um as needed is um Peter Caruso,

9:25Chris Lee, and Christina Besmann for

9:28those on this side. She's behind the

9:29column.

9:31Um they are the principal in charge,

9:33project manager, and project architect

9:35from Lamoureux Pagano Architects.

9:38Um also with us tonight as needed for

9:41the um stormwater is Ted Scott.

9:45And

9:46um

9:47So, I'd like to thank you for uh having

9:50us here tonight. We've been working for

9:52quite a while on this um since October

9:5524 and since February 25 with the

9:58designers to advance this exciting

10:01important project. The project

10:05The project is at about 30% of its

10:08overall design phase at this time. And

10:10so, this is the time that the MSBA has

10:12you vote to approve the total project

10:14budget. As you can see on the screen,

10:19as you can see on the screen, um we have

10:22progressively decreased the pros cost of

10:24this project both in terms of its soft

10:26cost and also its construction cost as

10:28we've developed this since our initial

10:30numbers were available in June of 2025.

10:34And with the most recent cost, we are

10:37looking at a total project cost

10:38inclusive of the previously authorized 2

10:41million for the feasibility study of 162

10:44million 544,091

10:48dollars.

10:49Now,

10:50this these refinements have been the

10:52work of LPA, the work of Vertex, and the

10:54work of the school building committee as

10:56they've made disciplined decisions

10:58throughout the project to ensure that

10:59the project comes in at an affordable

11:02cost for the taxpayers of Marlborough.

11:05Here you can see a chart that is put out

11:07by the MSBA that places all of the

11:09projects that are within their purview

11:11on the same chart with their bid dates.

11:14As you can see, we've highlighted the

11:15Goodnow project because at the time the

11:17Goodnow project within its one-year time

11:20frame was the lowest cost project in the

11:24MSBA pipeline. Now, at that time, you

11:26could build a project for almost close

11:28almost at the reimbursement rate in

11:31terms of funding caps, but one of the

11:34things that we noticed is that with the

11:35richer project that we're proposing

11:37tonight, not only are we again

11:39the um lowest cost MSBA project within

11:43the last year,

11:44but similar to the Goodnow project that

11:47was 5% below the cost of its next

11:49nearest project, we're 4% below the cost

11:53of the next nearest project, another

11:55Vertex project in Wrentham.

11:58Now, as we look at the budget, it's

12:00think it's important for you to

12:02understand that this budget is

12:04all-inclusive. The MSBA has a fairly

12:08restrictive

12:09um schedule that's included in your

12:11packet that describes all the areas of a

12:14project and making sure that you budget

12:16comprehensively for the project, both in

12:18terms of covering design fees, covering

12:21soft costs, covering FF&E and

12:23technology, covering the construction

12:25itself, and also carrying a healthy

12:27contingency.

12:29In putting together this budget,

12:31the OPM designer services, the estimated

12:34construction costs, the furniture,

12:35fixture, and equipment are all

12:37professionally estimated. So, we brought

12:40in an estimator that working with the

12:42Vertex company, an estimator working

12:44with LPA. They both estimated the same

12:46drawings and they reconciled those to

12:48arrive at that construction cost.

12:50We also had um LPA working with their

12:53consultants develop a furniture cost

12:56based on actual pricing and a review of

12:59what furniture was necessary so that we

13:00could establish an accurate budget, and

13:02we reviewed the technology and computers

13:04that would be part of the project. Now,

13:06those two are important because the MSBA

13:08also reimburses for those costs, so it's

13:11important to both find a reasonable for

13:13the project value, but also to include

13:17something that will maximize the

13:18reimbursement that is available on a per

13:20student basis.

13:23We've also um

13:25as I mentioned,

13:26you have already appropriated 2 million

13:28of this amount, and I think that's

13:31important to echo because it really it

13:33lowers the amount that you're looking to

13:34spend now.

13:37Now, in your packet, there is a very

13:40very complex spreadsheet, and that

13:43spreadsheet takes into account all the

13:44things that the MSBA uses when they

13:46determine what your reimbursement is,

13:49and in making sure that you have a

13:51comprehensive budget. It'll take into

13:53account their category and ineligible

13:55costs, which are based on the guidelines

13:58of the grant program that you're

13:59pursuing. It will take into account the

14:01cost and budget caps,

14:03any ineligible building area,

14:06any reimbursement rates or changes to

14:08those reimbursement rates, and the

14:10eligibility of things like contingency,

14:12but also things that are excluded scope.

14:15Now, it would take us hours to go

14:17through all the details of this, and so

14:18what I've developed today is a way to

14:20try and simplify this for all of you so

14:22that I can

14:24co- uh informatively explain how the

14:27system works, and what the reimbursement

14:30will be for the city of Marlborough.

14:33Now, this is the Reader's Digest version

14:36of the

14:38MSBA program. Ultimately, what it means

14:40is that you are going to receive your

14:43base rate

14:45for all eligible costs. The base rate is

14:47recalculated up until you come to the

14:49agreement with the MSBA, and they

14:51actually raised your base rate based on

14:53socioeconomic factors that they study

14:56from when you originally agreed to the

14:57feasibility study. So, moving forward,

15:00you'll have a higher reimbursement rate.

15:02They evaluate your maintenance school

15:05score, and they found that you were in

15:06the top 25th percentile in terms of

15:09maintenance of the schools that they

15:10look at, so you got an extra 1.54%

15:14on top of that. We've also made the

15:17decision that you would be moving

15:18forward with the green schools program,

15:21and so by meeting the requirements of

15:22the Opt-in Energy Code and delivering a

15:25school that provides a higher quality of

15:27air quality for the students, you'll get

15:29an additional 4% of those eligible

15:31costs. Now, I keep saying the same

15:33thing, which is eligible costs, and

15:35that's an important component of the

15:36MSBA grant program. They put certain

15:39caps in place, and I've shown some of

15:41them on the screen here, that establish

15:43up to those amounts, they will reimburse

15:45those costs.

15:47Now, in their analysis of your total

15:49project budget, they found that 86% of

15:52those costs in that budget were

15:54eligible. And so, of those amount, that

15:57is what you will receive your 78.8%

16:00reimbursement on. Works out to be about

16:0263% in total of the costs of the project

16:05will be coming back to Marlborough from

16:07the state.

16:11So, here I've just illustrated a little

16:12bit about how that reimbursement works.

16:14It's a paid as spent, so you as you

16:18incur costs associated with the grant

16:20program, the MSBA will receive a

16:24reimbursement request that will itemize

16:26those costs as the warrants go out to

16:28pay those bills. They review those, they

16:30audit them on the fly throughout the

16:32entire process, and that, based on what

16:35those eligible costs determined by that

16:37audit are, you'll receive the payments

16:40periodically, usually monthly,

16:42throughout the course of the project.

16:44I've illustrated here sort of the two

16:46differences because what you'll find is

16:48that much more of the costs in the

16:50design phase are eligible. And so, I've

16:53illustrated using the cash flow that's

16:55in your packet, what you can expect in

16:57terms of reimbursement should all of the

17:00facts and figures that we have provided

17:03show to be eligible after that audit.

17:06And what you find is that about 74% of

17:08those costs in design end up being

17:11reimbursed.

17:12When you get to construction, you're

17:14much more exposed to the cost caps. They

17:17work out to be just under $700

17:20um per square foot. And so, of that

17:23amount of that cost cap,

17:25because you are so much higher than it

17:27at the $792

17:30per square foot that the project came in

17:32at, you are actually that first hundred

17:35or ninety or so dollars a square foot is

17:38not reimbursed. The effect of that is

17:41that when you get to construction versus

17:43design, where you're getting 74% of the

17:46costs in design, by the time you're in

17:47construction, you're closer to 63. But

17:50construction makes up so much of the

17:53overall grant reimbursement that

17:55ultimately, should you spend every

17:57dollar,

17:58you would get 63% of those dollars back

18:01from the state

18:02if the eligibility calculations after

18:04audit prove true through the course of

18:07the job.

18:09Now,

18:10to make that clearer, I came up with a

18:12couple of different scenarios here to

18:14help explain how your decisions and the

18:18school building committee's decisions as

18:19they move through this project can have

18:21a huge effect on your reimbursement.

18:23So, the first option in the green box is

18:25that you decide to spend every dollar

18:28within your budget. You follow all the

18:30rules, everything ends up eligible. The

18:33city of Marlborough can look at a

18:34project that is 160,000 square feet that

18:38they would get for 59,400

18:41and 9,098

18:43dollars,

18:44which is a great value. It's much better

18:47than a lot of communities are getting

18:48from the MSBA.

18:50Now, construction, let's say, comes in

18:535% under budget. You hire your CM, they

18:56get their bids, and we find out that the

18:58bids are 5% down. What you can see here

19:01is that while

19:03the um

19:06construct or the eligible costs are

19:08almost the same,

19:09you're still getting

19:11103 million 59,192

19:14dollars. So, you're only losing roughly

19:1870,000 dollars in grant,

19:20but you're spending

19:226 million dollars less.

19:25Because the way that they do they

19:27calculate it is that they calculate

19:28where you are at bid,

19:30they'll adjust your grant down.

19:32They'll say, "Oh, this what we thought

19:34would be construction, that's that

19:3670,000 dollars, you're not going to need

19:39because your bid came in low, but we'll

19:40still pay you up to a quarter percent of

19:43your soft cost contingency and up to 1%

19:46of your construction contingency." Now,

19:48let's say the bid comes in, we spend

19:51everything up to up to bidding, the bid

19:54comes in exactly on target, but we're

19:56disciplined in the construction phase.

19:58We don't encounter a lot of unforeseens.

20:00When that extra scope comes up, the

20:02school building committee says, "We

20:03don't really need that. We want to be

20:05fiscally disciplined." as they've been

20:06through the process.

20:08In that case, you're still going to get

20:11that same grant because you've spent

20:14every dollar up to that point, but the

20:17total project cost to the city is going

20:19to be 54 million 919,997

20:23dollars. And the reason is that because

20:26they cap your costs, all that spending

20:28above that cost is spending that is paid

20:32for 100% by the city of Marlborough,

20:35whereas the spending under those cost

20:36caps get reimbursed. And the best dollar

20:39spent

20:41is the one that you don't spend because

20:43you get that full dollar back for all

20:45that stuff over the top that you don't

20:47need to put the money into.

20:51Now, it's important because construction

20:53is schedule and cost. It's important to

20:56just touch on the schedule and see what

20:58the commitments that we're working on

20:59here are.

21:01We're coming to you today because our

21:02schedule requires a very aggressive

21:04approach. We're currently procuring the

21:06CM now. I know you previously this body

21:09voted to approve the CM at risk

21:12approach. We're currently soliciting

21:14qualifications and we hope to have the

21:16CM CM on board in October. We're moving

21:19forward with design development, which

21:20is roughly 50% of the design phase,

21:23hopefully by the end of the year.

21:25And then we'll be doing early packages

21:27as early as March. And the goal would be

21:30that we have 100% of the drawings 1 year

21:33from now

21:34going to bid, but we'd have early

21:37packages that would allow us to start

21:39early mobilization and early

21:41um structure packages so that we can

21:43begin the wheels moving of the

21:44construction machine and really have

21:47shovels in the ground as soon as school

21:48is out at the Richer school at the end

21:50of this school at this next school year.

21:53So all told, that's what allows us to

21:55open the school in the fall of 2029

21:59and

22:00close out the construction in the summer

22:02of 2030 after we've finished all of that

22:05site work that we're not able to get

22:07done because eventually winter will hit.

22:12And

22:13with your permission, Mr. Chair, I'll

22:15just continue on the storm water.

22:16>> Thank you. Thank you.

22:17>> Um so the storm water came up through

22:20the course of the job. It was identified

22:23by the DPW that they had a recurrent

22:25issue at Ripley and McGee Avenue where

22:28every 3 years or so they would have

22:31substantial flooding.

22:32And the substantial flooding would occur

22:34at the intersection of um Ripley Ave and

22:37McGee, but it would also occur

22:41through this area that is also wetlands

22:43on the back side of the site. And so we

22:45wanted to understand what the impact of

22:48that storm water would be on the project

22:51and how the project's impact would also

22:54affect that storm water.

22:56And so uh we retained the civil engineer

22:59through the designer Nitsch Engineering

23:01to do a study to they did HydroCAD which

23:04is some computer modeling of how

23:06drainage works within the area and they

23:09determined that while the school only

23:11committed 3% to the problem, the problem

23:15encroached on the school. It encroached

23:17on the southern entrance which serves as

23:19both a bus and parent entrance to the

23:21school. And so it had the potential of

23:24if you're going to spend $162 million to

23:26build this school, wouldn't you want to

23:28make sure that we're keeping the water

23:29from taking taking over? So in

23:32discussions with the DPW, we researched

23:34various ways that we could move forward

23:36with it. We identified a budget um

23:39working with the DPW and um Tom DePersio

23:42who is also here tonight.

23:44And we identified that it's about $5

23:46million in construction to pursue two of

23:48the options that were in that study.

23:51And a contingency was reasonable for

23:53design costs of about $1.3 million that

23:56would pay to bring the designer on board

23:59and to do the to run the project

24:01separately from the school project

24:03entirely as a DPW project. That was an

24:06important distinction because the MSBA

24:08will only

24:09allow you to have one project as part of

24:12their vote. They want it to be entirely

24:15separate for various reasons, legal

24:17procurement requirements as well as they

24:19want to make sure that when they report

24:21on the cost of schools, they're

24:23reporting on the cost of the school, not

24:26the cost of the school plus whatever the

24:27city or town decides to tack on to it.

24:31So ultimately

24:33what we're before you today to discuss

24:36is that you have

24:39a budget before you that's $162,554

24:43or $544,091.

24:45You have already appropriated $2 million

24:48of those dollars. So you are looking at

24:51a school that will give you that will

24:53cost you $160,544,091.

24:58The MSBA, if you spend every dollar,

25:02will give you 103 million 134,993

25:06dollars.

25:08If you spend everything but half your

25:10contingency, they will give you that

25:12same amount.

25:14When you take that out, you're looking

25:16at the total cost of that school being

25:1857 million

25:20409,098

25:23dollars. And if you take the Add the

25:25storm water to that to that, the two

25:27appropriations combined are 63,709,098

25:32dollars.

25:33Similar to what we did when we visited

25:35the Urban Affairs Committee for PSR, we

25:36reached out to the treasurer and asked

25:39him to help us with the tax impact. He

25:41found that for the average um

25:45median home,

25:47the annual impact would be on average

25:49193.23

25:51cents. And in that highest single year,

25:53which is about year three,

25:55it would be 275

25:58dollars and 50 cents, which both numbers

26:01are

26:02um about 20 dollars lower than they were

26:05at PSR.

26:07And as the letter that we have provided

26:09to each of you tonight also states, the

26:12MSBA has confirmed at their board

26:14meeting that they will fund the project.

26:16So, the next step would be to enter into

26:18a project scope and budget agreement

26:20with the MSBA pending approval of the

26:22financing. So, if you vote next week to

26:25fund the project, that would be the next

26:28step. We like to describe the project

26:30scope and budget and the project funding

26:32agreement is like buying a house. You

26:34put in an offer and you sign that offer.

26:36That's your project scope and budget

26:37agreement. And then your project funding

26:40agreement is the thing that actually

26:41starts the grant flowing. So, that's

26:43what those two documents are. So, should

26:46this committee ultimately vote to fund

26:48the project on Monday, those would be

26:51the two next step and then the MSBA

26:54would begin the reimbursement project.

26:56LPA and Vertex would continue to design

26:58your building and by the time we get to

27:01October, we'll have a third partner in

27:03on board with the CM so that we can

27:05deliver this school in 2029.

27:09With that,

27:10I will open it up to questions that

27:12myself or any of the assembled partners

27:16that we've worked with very successfully

27:18on this project are able to answer.

27:20>> Thank you, Chris. Thank you, Chris.

27:21>> Councilor Vital?

27:22>> Mr. Chair, could we please have Mr.

27:24DePersio give us a little breakdown of

27:27what the uh

27:28the the water project's going to entail?

27:32>> Please.

27:34Thank Thank you, City Engineer DePersio.

27:50>> Uh thank you, councilors.

27:52So, uh Chris did a good job of

27:54explaining kind of how we came to the

27:56decision that this drainage project

28:00um needs to be done in conjunction with

28:03the school project and Nitsch

28:05Engineering

28:07uh did a good job at from a high level

28:09of breaking down all the different

28:11components to this drainage issue.

28:14Um

28:15the short version is that Millham Brook

28:20is piped through the neighborhood there

28:22when that neighborhood was built. They

28:23took the brook and put it in a drainage

28:26trunk lines through the neighborhood

28:27that are they're undersized now.

28:30And what happens in intense storm events

28:33is where the brook enters the drainage

28:35system, it surcharges and and floods

28:38that area as Chris said, and uh sort of

28:42the wetland system that really surrounds

28:44that whole southern part of the school

28:45site. It's all tied into that Mill Ham

28:47Brook flow.

28:49Um so

28:51there's a couple of

28:53phases we call them of the drainage

28:54project that were uh

28:57in the

28:57design uh

28:59phase is starting now.

29:01One is to kind of double up the size of

29:04that trunk line.

29:06Um

29:07that's a big project. It's It's

29:09difficult to

29:10>> the development, right?

29:11>> Right, all the way through.

29:13Uh

29:14that's one piece of it, and the other

29:16piece is going to involve um

29:19some of the MassDOT infrastructure for

29:21the highway.

29:22Um there's a big uh stilling basin they

29:25call it that's behind the school.

29:28And uh and a drainage channel

29:31doesn't function properly. So that's

29:34that's a piece of it that we're going to

29:35have to get MassDOT. We've started

29:37conversations with them

29:39to get them on board for that work.

29:41Um

29:42and I also want to do some work at

29:45the Lake Williams Dam because

29:49to the extent we can kind of get a

29:50spillway there that we can easily

29:52control, we can maybe

29:54close that in advance of a big storm and

29:56kind of delay that that part of the

29:58flow, too. So there's several different

30:00components to it, but that's kind of the

30:01overview.

30:03>> Scheduling, if this gets approved by

30:04this body, when can you begin?

30:07>> So we're we're working on the drainage

30:10improvement part through the

30:11neighborhood in-house now. So um we

30:15anticipate anticipate being ready to

30:18go out to bid with that part when we

30:21have the funding.

30:25>> Thank you.

30:25>> And the other part, like I said, we're

30:27working with MassDOT, so we're a little

30:29bit

30:30beholden to their schedule, so hopefully

30:32we can get them uh to move on that part

30:34of it, too.

30:34>> Our ideal schedule was to do it in

30:37concert with the school so that it'd be

30:39a separate contractor. They'd be doing

30:41the work on their own, but we'd do it in

30:43two phases, ideally one that begins as

30:46soon as the

30:48winter ends next year, and then the

30:51second one would begin the following

30:53year.

30:54So that by the time we open the school,

30:56the goal would be that both are

30:59um

31:00are complete. Obviously, that requires

31:04DOT to work with the city and the other

31:07components there, and um we've had lots

31:09of conversations with the DPW to make

31:12sure that the contractor that we hire

31:14for the school understands their role

31:16in um working with that contractor and

31:20getting them access when they need to

31:21through the site to make sure that the

31:23both can occur concurrently.

31:25>> Right.

31:26>> Thank you.

31:28Thank you, Mr.

31:28>> Thank you, counselor.

31:29Thank you, Engineer DePersio. Got

31:31counselor Orum.

31:36Is there a question for

31:37>> A question. Uh

31:38Tom, you can stay up there, too.

31:40Um

31:41So, how much lineal feet uh

31:44are there in this pipe that we have to

31:46replace?

31:49>> Uh

31:50I don't know the exact number, but it's

31:52uh

31:53it's over 1,000 ft.

31:55>> I see. So, it's going to go through

31:57several streets, then.

31:58>> It is.

31:59>> It has to be replaced by the three.

32:00>> Yeah, all the way to the outfall at Glen

32:03St.

32:03>> was my other question, the outfall.

32:04Where is the outfall, and will it be

32:06able to handle

32:07I'm sure you've studied it. Will it be

32:09able to handle all this additional flow?

32:11>> Yes, the outfall is at Glen St. It back

32:13into Millham Brook.

32:15Um that section of the Brook has uh

32:19it has the capacity to handle that.

32:22>> Okay, and there's no detention basins

32:24planned for this or anything like that

32:25to slow it down before

32:26>> No, there's really there's really no

32:28place to do anything like that.

32:31>> Thank you.

32:31>> Yep.

32:32>> Thank you, Mr.

32:33>> being said, the new school will have

32:34detention

32:36on the facility, so that that piece of

32:38it, that's going to be an improvement as

32:39well.

32:40>> Thank you.

32:41>> Thank you. Thank you, Engineer

32:43DePascale. I'll open up to any further

32:45questions of the council.

32:48No.

32:49President Ossining.

32:51>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

32:53>> Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was wondering

32:54if I could have Comptroller and then

32:56maybe Chris answer these questions.

32:59So, the

33:00the

33:02tax impact, right? I mean, it's nice to

33:04say we want a new school and how much

33:05it's going to cost, but

33:07you know, people want to know what's it

33:08going to cost them, right? That that's

33:11So, you go through a scenario where you

33:13say it's up to $275,

33:16then drops down. Could you give an up

33:18Could you or Brian give us a

33:21insight as to why it's Cuz my mortgage

33:23doesn't go up or down, right? My

33:24mortgage is

33:25fixed at this rate and it's good for 30

33:27years.

33:32>> If Brian can answer that easily more

33:34easily than I can while I shuffle

33:36through my papers and find

33:38the tax impact.

33:41>> So,

33:42let me answer the tax impact.

33:43>> So, how does the city do their bond?

33:49>> All good.

33:50All right. Thank you.

33:52So, the city we do our bonding, we're

33:54very aggressive. We do level principal,

33:56unlike your mortgage, which is a level

33:58payment. So, your mortgage is the same

34:01over 30 years, we'll say,

34:03amount every month.

34:05The way the city does it, we divide

34:08we take the

34:09principal, we divide it by the number of

34:13years

34:14and we take that level off the every

34:17year, so that we pay a lot more up front

34:20and less later on in the schedule. Why

34:23we do it that way is because, as you

34:25know, we're always adding more bonds.

34:28So, as that one declines, then we bring

34:30on the next one and decline, we bring on

34:32the next one. If you do it where it's

34:34always level, you're always adding to

34:37that payment. So, we try to do it this

34:40way, and also it saves you interest. By

34:42paying a lot of principal up front and

34:44level principal, you pay less interest

34:46over the life of the project. And in

34:49this case, it's millions of dollars.

34:50>> So, so that's the point that I wanted

34:52the public to understand and why the why

34:55the payment schedule set up that way so

34:57that it actually does benefit the tax

34:59payers. Cuz what's not said here

35:02is a $35 million fire station,

35:05which is now going to add another $150

35:08>> [snorts]

35:08>> to the average tax bill.

35:10All right. We have a capital plan that

35:13has not come down yet that usually runs

35:15in the order of 10 to 12 million dollars

35:17that's going to add

35:19my math, $50

35:21to the average tax bill. So, as you vote

35:24on this, it's not just a single bond.

35:27You need to take the whole concept. Now,

35:30I'm confident the city's got the

35:31capacity to handle it.

35:33Now, the taxpayers may not like the fact

35:35that we have the capacity to handle it,

35:38but you you but you're voting on is

35:40going to be

35:42you know, increasing the average tax

35:45by about $275

35:47if both project Well, both projects have

35:49to be approved in order to make the

35:51project work. You can't just do the

35:53school and not do the the storm water.

35:55The storm To me, the storm water we need

35:57it regardless of whether we do the

35:58school or not. The storm water piece of

35:59that

36:00is going to have to get done, and that

36:01would show up on a future capital plan.

36:05So, Chris, I'm going to challenge you.

36:07Um

36:09for the Goodnow school,

36:10uh we have we were able to rescind about

36:129 million dollars worth of bonds.

36:15So, I'm going to put it out to you that

36:16it came in under budget. It came in

36:18ahead of schedule. Um

36:20I'm confident you guys can pull off the

36:22same feat cuz we do estimate

36:24conservatively, and that'll all work out

36:26in the end, but I just wanted to like to

36:28challenge you to the fact that uh

36:30uh there's a benchmark before you that

36:32was able to rescind a significant

36:34portion of the bond that we approved for

36:35good now, and I'm hoping that uh you and

36:37your team uh can do the same thing. I'm

36:40confident you will based on the

36:42presentations I've seen uh your team

36:44make uh in various uh meetings

36:46uh over the last year, so uh

36:50hopefully you accept the challenge.

36:52>> I I can certainly accept that challenge.

36:54Um well, uh as any financial advisor

36:57will tell you, past results are not a

37:00guarantee of the future. I can tell you

37:02that my MSBA project that is closest to

37:05construction

37:07um had a $159

37:09million

37:11budget, and it is currently $22

37:16million

37:17another year and a half to go.

37:20>> So, counselors, I'm not guaranteeing

37:22this, but I'm just saying past

37:23performance I mean, they're they are

37:25estimates. They they put the best they

37:27can cuz they're trying to predict what

37:29the price of wood, steel, pick the

37:31product is going to be 3 4 years from

37:33now,

37:34uh and what labor costs are going to be,

37:36but uh hopefully they've done their uh

37:38proper estimating, and this should be

37:41the highest it is and not

37:44come in

37:45any higher than what they're projecting.

37:47If you want John wants to say something.

37:49>> join in cuz he has much more statistics

37:51about

37:52>> Well, I'm not going to give statistics,

37:53but what I will say is um

37:56you know, having the benefit of a CM on

37:58our team in the next few months, that's

38:00the benefit of the build that's actually

38:02going to do the project in this year as

38:05we keep moving forward, you check that

38:07you're well within that schematic design

38:09budget, at design development, you check

38:12it again at construction document. So,

38:13we're going to have numerous occasions,

38:15and we will challenge that CM as well.

38:18Just hey, just because we have X amount

38:20of millions for construction, we want

38:22you to do better. We're hiring you to

38:24come to the table to help give us ideas

38:26to do better. So, that if we don't have

38:28it, and LPA doesn't have it, hey CM,

38:30what have you done recently that can

38:32help bring this thing in to keep our

38:34project in that lower right-hand corner

38:36because listen, it's it's great cuz I've

38:39sat in communities where that number is

38:40at the other end, and it's a

38:42it's a much harder discussion, but

38:45I think the team's done a phenomenal job

38:47with keeping the numbers down, and the

38:49challenge is finding the right CM that

38:51will sing that sheet of music with us so

38:53that we can, you know, we talk in

38:56extremes because it's easier for the

38:57math. If you spend all of this, you will

39:00get all of this, but that was my

39:02question to or my comment to Chris was

39:04the best dollar is the one not spent.

39:06You don't worry about any reimbursement

39:07in a dollar if it never comes out of

39:09your pocket, right? And that's that's

39:11super important these days where we know

39:13this is not the only community. We hear

39:16that very same list of capital coming,

39:19you know, potential issues with

39:20operating budgets, right? All sorts of

39:22things. So, we we hear it, and we, you

39:25know, we take it to heart because

39:27ultimately, you know, we want you to be

39:28happy and not stress over this thing

39:31from, you know, from the get-go. So,

39:33we're going to work to work to do just

39:34that.

39:35>> Thank you, John. Thank you, Mr.

39:36Chairman.

39:36>> Thank you, President Eisen. Council

39:38Vidal.

39:38>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Gentlemen, it's my

39:40understanding that all furnishings, all

39:42equipment, all technology is going to be

39:45reimbursed. So, we're going to get a new

39:46school with everything new inside.

39:49>> They're

39:49>> There is a limit to the reimbursement in

39:51terms of they do it per student. So,

39:54they have um I'm not going to know the

39:56number off

39:58>> 1,900 for furnishings per student, and

40:011,700 for for technology.

40:04>> Do you guys believe that that will be

40:06>> Oh, probably especially

40:08it's more challenging if at an older

40:10school, but for high school middle

40:12school and high school where there's

40:13that much more technology, where the

40:16furniture is bigger, it's easier to

40:18achieve in a small in small school for

40:21the smaller humans, right?

40:22>> So if we So if we have a new school, new

40:24new furnishings, new equipment, new

40:26technology, we have an old school which

40:28has all that stuff. Is there any value

40:30to that facility and what's in it?

40:33>> So it's a great question and that's part

40:35of what will be discussed as the project

40:37keeps moving. What do you want to do

40:39with the the old old stuff? Do you want

40:41to recycle it through the the other

40:44schools? Is it, you know, is some of the

40:46stuff in richer

40:4710 years old and there is other schools

40:50it's 20. Yeah, absolutely. The value is

40:52is more of that value to you.

40:54Um ultimately when the CM is on board,

40:57they are coming on board to manage that,

41:00but they will be part of the process to

41:02say,

41:03"Okay, if we've got to empty the school

41:05out,

41:06you know, this is going to be part of

41:07our number. If we're going to recycle

41:08it, here's what we can suggest."

41:10Um or it's a wholesale, "Guys, it's all

41:13yours. Take it and use it, you know, as

41:15you like." But

41:17>> To add to that, um

41:19I had to take the glasses off for this

41:20one.

41:21Um the budget carries about 4.15 million

41:25for technology and furniture combined.

41:29Of that, all but 847,000

41:32are reimbursed. Now, we base that off of

41:36an actual accounting of what we think

41:38the furniture will be at this time using

41:40unit costs at this time and a little bit

41:43of contingency and a little bit of

41:45escalation. Now, we have to do that now

41:47so that we make sure we carry an

41:48appropriate budget so that we can

41:50deliver on the goals of Marlborough by

41:52the time we get to buying that stuff in

41:552029.

41:57But the reality is that we're going to

41:58make decisions the closer we get to

42:00those about every aspect of this budget

42:03to try and deliver the project for the

42:04best value for the citizens of

42:06Marlborough. And if we can deliver it

42:09for, you know, that

42:123.2 by reusing something because that's

42:14the decision that the school building

42:16committee chooses to move forward, that

42:18just adds to that graphic I showed you

42:20where every dollar that you don't spend

42:22of that $847,000,

42:25that comes straight out of Marlborough.

42:27MSBA's not paying that portion of it,

42:29but you want to make sure you get every

42:30dollar that MSBA is paying for.

42:32>> Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you, Mr.

42:33Chair.

42:34>> Councilor Vital.

42:35>> Thank you, Chris. Thank you, John.

42:37Any further discussion

42:39in the committee?

42:40If no further discussion, I will

42:41entertain a motion.

42:48>> Mr. Chair.

42:49>> Councilor Ficciolo.

42:49>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um I've enjoyed

42:52the presentation and conversation and um

42:54with that would move to approve the

42:57proposed Richer K-5 Elementary School

42:59Project Bond in the amount of

43:01$160,544,091.

43:06>> Thank you, Councilor Ficciolo. Uh

43:07motion's been made and seconded uh to

43:09approve order number 26-19766

43:12proposed Richer School K-5 Elementary

43:15School Project Bond and the

43:16appropriation amount of $160,544,091.

43:24Councilor Ficciolo.

43:25>> Mr. Chair, I would just ask that um that

43:27uh a suspension is asked at the next

43:29meeting so we

43:30>> Councilor Ficciolo. Thank you.

43:30Absolutely well noted.

43:33All in favor?

43:351 2 3 4 5. That carries with the

43:38suspension. Thank you, Councilor

43:39Ficciolo. Uh next up is order number

43:4226-19766

43:46uh proposed stormwater bond in the

43:48amount of $6,300,000

43:51for the design, construction, and

43:53improvement of the stormwater drainage

43:55and related municipal infrastructure. Um

43:58we were uh

43:59nicely educated by uh engineer DePersio,

44:02so I will certainly entertain a motion

44:05on this if the committee is ready to do

44:07so.

44:07>> Mr. Chair.

44:08>> Councilor Picillo.

44:09>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Move to approve

44:11the proposed storm water bond in the

44:13amount of $6,300,000.

44:15>> Thank you, Councilor Picillo. Motion's

44:17been made made made and I will second

44:19that to approve order number 109766

44:22proposed storm water bond and the

44:25appropriation amount of $6,300,000

44:27for the design, construction, and

44:29improvement of the storm water drainage

44:30and related municipal infrastructure.

44:32Any further discussion?

44:34Councilor Duso.

44:35>> Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Just for

44:37a clarification, there is no state

44:40coverage of this expense. This is all on

44:42us, right?

44:42>> That is correct.

44:43>> Okay. Just

44:44wanted to confirm that. Thank you.

44:45>> as President Assing mentioned earlier,

44:47too, and engineer to prove that these

44:48things that needed to be done

44:50uh prior to this.

44:51>> Yeah, completely understandable. Yes.

44:53Okay.

44:53>> Thank you, Councilor Duso.

44:54>> Yep.

44:56>> Motion's been made and seconded. All in

44:57favor? 1 2 3 4 5. That carries with a

45:01suspension, Councilor Chair.

45:03>> to ask. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

45:04>> so much, thank you so much, Picillo.

45:06Councilor Picillo.

45:08With that said, I will entertain a

45:10motion to adjourn.

45:12>> Mr. Chair.

45:13>> Councilor Byrnes.

45:14>> Motion to adjourn.

45:15>> Motion's been made and seconded to

45:17adjourn. All in favor? 1 2 3 4 5. We are

45:21adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Thank you.